BW52: 2023 Year End Extravaganza!

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  Are you having a merry Jolabokaflod! It's time to retire this year's walking shoes, curl up by the fire or under a cozy comforter and figure out where you've been and where you would like to go next year.   Buy a new pair of shoes or wings if you dare, and maybe buy a bigger backpack to stow all those new and old books you want to read in 2024.  

Although I love exploring and reading new authors, genres, spaces and places, I like to revisit old friends along the way.  While I may map out a plan for the new year, I always build in plenty of time for side trips along the way.  I like spontaneity, delving here, there, and every where, following rabbit trails full of whimsy.  In fact, I'm looking forward to a whimsical new year full of reading adventures. 

So tell me...how was your reading year?  

Did you follow a plan or go with the flow?  

Did you stick to tried and true authors or genres or explore outside your comfort zone?

Where did your adventures take you?  Outside of time or into space? A different country, state, or city? 

Which stories made your heart sing or cry or laugh or fly? Made you want to hug the author or characters?   

Which story  made you want to throw it across the room in disgust? 

Which authors did you add to your  "I want to read more or again pile."

Share quotes, covers, stats, and ideas for next year such as new or different authors or genres or stories to explore. 

Our post is sponsored by the letter A for autodidactic, autotelic, anti hero, archetypes, and annotation. 

Thank you for sharing your reading year with me! 

Hugs, loves, and kisses!

BW51: Winter Solstice

 

Happy Sunday!  Christmas is a week away and if you haven't started your Christmas shopping, like me, you'd better hop to it.  Our Christmas tree is decorated and waiting for gifts to fill the tree skirt beneath it. How about you. Winter is also upon us as of December 22nd and heralded by the brisk cold, hot toddies, warm fires, and curling up with a wintery read.  

The Best Winter Books to Snuggle up with in 2023

Winter 2023 Books Preview: 16 titles not to miss

A Wintry Reading List: 15 Books With Immaculate Winter Vibes

25 Classic Winter Books to Read by the Fire

Our post is sponsored by the letter B for ballad, bards, and beats, musical beats, that is. 

Please Join us for another round of Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks in 2024

 

Join us for our 16th annual Read 52 books in 52 weeks reading adventure. 

The goal is easy - Read 52 Books.  We don't have any set reading lists so how you get there is up to you. However, we do have a variety of challenges including weekly, monthly mini challenges, annual and perpetual challenges to entice your reading taste buds   If you aren't up to 52 but want to join in, you can set your own goal.  

2024 52 Books Bingo - 25 new categories which will take us on a exploration around the world. 

2024 Bookish Bookology - Our author of the month in which you can read one or more books by the author, or spell out their first or last name. 

2024 A to Z and Back Again - All the way from A to Z and back again as we play with words.  

Participate in one or more of our perpetual challenges:  

Agatha Christie  -- Read her books in chronological order as listed, group by detective or collection, or randomly if you choose. Read at least three per year.

Mind Voyages - A science fiction / fantasy challenge through the decades, exploring the Hugo and Nebula winners and nominees, Philip K. Dick, and Robert Heinlein. 

Well Educated Mind --  Continue to explore the classics in 6 categories: Fiction, Autobiography, History/Politics, Drama, Poetry and Science. 

or dip into past challenges such as  Brit Tripping, Dusty and Chunky, Feed Your Muse, Inspiration, Nobel Prize Winners and Sounds of Silence.

There is a little bit of something for everyone. Follow your muse and read widely or wildly, follow rabbit trails, read outside your comfort zone or stick with the tried and true. Choose whatever path is right for you. 

The mini and perpetual challenges are all optional, Mix them up anyway you like and follow your own path in the quest to read.  

The challenge runs January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024

Our book weeks begin on Sunday,.

Participants may join at any time. 

All forms of books are acceptable including e-books, audio books, etc. 

Re-reads are acceptable as long as they are read after January 1, 2024

Books may overlap other challenges. 

Create an entry post linking to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks and sign up in the link below.  

If you don't have a blog or social media account, post about your reads in the comments section of each weekly post. 

The link widget is  added to the bottom of each weekly post to link to your book reviews, and closes at the end of each book week. 

BW50: 52 Books Bingo - Book to Movie

Happy Sunday!  Our next 52 Books Bingo category is Book to Movie.  I totally enjoy watching movies that are based on books to see what the writer or director will do with the subject matter. Will they stay true to the book or will they veer far to left or right field.   I've always wanted to read the book before seeing a movie based on the book whereas my son likes to see the movie first before he reads the book. 

I can see his point as there was one movie that veered so far to the left from the book that preconceived notions about the movie were shot to heck and I was disappointed.    John Grisham's The Runaway Jury was about cancer, how someone could get to the jurors and influence the trail, and making the tobacco industry pay.  The story was excellent. The movie was about a mass shooting, guns, jury tampering, and the gun industry.  Totally different subject matter, except for the jury tampering.  I had wanted to see the book as as written because the story was so intriguing, and was disappointed with the rewritten movie.   

But none the less, I enjoy watching books turned into movies from Philip Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep which the movie Blade Runner was based off of to the Harry Potter films to Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code to Schindler's List.  Join me in reading and watching Books to Movies or Television shows

43 of Our All-Time Favorite Book-to-Movie Adaptations

60 New Page-to-Screen Adaptations to Add to Your 2022 Reading List

All the Books With 2023 Screen Adaptations to Add to Your Reading List

The 20 Best TV Shows Based on Books From the Past Decade

15 Amazing TV Series Inspired by Books

This post sponsored by the letter C for colorful, characters, and contradiction.

BW49: Welcome December

 

Happy Sunday!  December is upon us which means this month will be full of celebrations beginning with Hanukkah, Advent, St. Nicholas Day, St. Lucia Day, Christmas and Boxing Day, the arrival of Winter as well as Festivus for the rest of us.  And we can't forget the wonderful reading tradition in Iceland - Jólabókaflóð.  

This year is, as they say,

winding down.

It’s not a race to the finish,

it’s not a victory lap,

it’s not anything but a slow

staggering stumble

across a line

that we simply hope

means

we can try again next time.

~Jenny Justice 

December is the time to evaluate, and think about all the stories, people, adventures, tests and trials we've read this year.  The authors and stories we'd liked to leave behind and the ones we'd like to read more of.  As I add more books to my tbr list, both physical and electronic, taking into account that by the time I get around to reading them, I may not be in the mood for that particular book, I remind myself, there's plenty of time  as reading is an never ending journey.  I'll be in the mood eventually.   So enjoy the process and fill up your shelves, because whether we race or stumble across the finish line, remember there's always next year. 

Announcing the Translation Prizes 2023 shortlists

World Fantasy 2023 Winners announced

End of the Year Sleuthing: 10 New Mystery Thriller Books for December 2023

40 New Christmas Romance Books Releasing in 2023 Bringing Holiday Cheer

Our post is sponsored by the letter d which stands for delightful, delicious, and demanding. 

BW48: Best Books of 2023

 

Happy Sunday!  It's that time of the year again when all the Best Books of 2023 lists come out. I'm amazed at some of the lists, especially the ones where I have never heard of or seen any of the books listed. What planet have I been living on?  Hee Hee! I'm having fun perusing the best of lists and adding to my ever growing Wishlist of books to buy before the end of the year and my annual buying ban.  Hubby said since we're redone all our bookshelves that I can't double park anymore, so will be sorting through for another round of what will I never read again books to donate in order to make room. 

According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2024 will be the Year of the Dragon which is perfect for me because I love books with all sorts of dragons.  

Rising Shadow's Best Dragon Books of 2023  

Perhaps, Perhaps Not 24 Best Dragon Books to Light Up Your Life. 

And we can't forget all the books which aren't about dragons 

NPR has published their Books We Love for 2023. 

Time released their 100 must read books of 2023. 

Bill Gates talks about Great Books, Courses, and Music from 2023.

Powell's Best Fiction of 2023

BookPage Best Fiction of 2023 .

Have fun exploring! 

Our post is sponsored by the letter E for eager, earnest, eloquent, endeavors. 

BW47: Happy Thanksgiving

 

Happy Sunday! Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours. We have much to be grateful for and remember this week as our family gathers together this week to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and those who have gone on to eternal rest. I am also thankful for each and every one of you in our 52 Books family of readers.

Thanksgiving Delights

By

Joanna Fuchs

On Thanksgiving Day we're thankful for

Our blessings all year through,

For family we dearly love,

For good friends, old and new.

For sun to light and warm our days,

For stars that glow at night,

For trees of green and skies of blue,

And puffy clouds of white.

We're grateful for our eyes that see

The beauty all around,

For arms to hug, and legs to walk,

And ears to hear each sound.

The list of all we're grateful for

Would fill a great big book;

Our thankful hearts find new delights

Everywhere we look!

Our post brought to us by the letter F for facts and fabulous fables.

BW46: Share your non fiction shelves

 

Happy Sunday! Since this is nonfiction month, it's time for something totally different with a peek into our nonfiction bookshelves. Share pictures of your shelves or your favorite non fiction reads so far this year. 

Fascination with History 

Road to writing fiction and non fiction

Discovering ourselves 

Smorgasbord of Non fiction 

1958 World Book Encyclopedia

2002 World Book Encyclopedia 

Our post was brought to you by the letter G which stands for goodness gracious, great balls of fire. 

BW45: 52 Books Bingo - Hygge

 

Happy Sunday! Our next 52 Books Bingo category is Hygge. What exactly is Hygge?  Hygge originated from 16th century Norwegian, first appeared in Danish writing in the 1800's and was added to the Oxford Dictionary in 2017.   As defined by the Oxford Dictionary, Hygge is 

"a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being (regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture)."

The ten principles of Hygge according to Meik Wiking who wrote The Little Book of Hygge are: 

"Atmosphere, Presence, Pleasure, Equality, Gratitude, Harmony, Comfort, Truce, Togetherness and, finally, Shelter."

In the mid 20th Century, Hygge in English writing as "cozy and comfortable surroundings that invoke an inner sense of contentment or well-being."

There are quite a few ways to interpret this category including reading a book with Hygge in the title as well as reading a cozy mystery set anywhere. 

Danish literature has international reach so read a book written by a Danish author. 

10 Best Books for a Hygge Life. 

Favorite Books set in Denmark.

Have fun! 

BW44: Non Fiction November

 

Happy Sunday! November is the month we celebrate the wonderful wide world of  Non Fiction which encompasses a broad range of categories - from biographies and memoirs,  creative nonfiction to fine arts, philosophy or psychology, history to science,  spirituality to religion, self help to health and fitness, cook books to crafts to name a few. 

Plus our author of the month is Margot Lee Shetterly who wrote Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race.  My family read the book and watched the movie based on the book and both were educational and enlightening and prompted much conversation in our home. 

November 1st is also National Author's Day so show some appreciation for the authors who provided us with all our great reads. 

And the beginning of National Novel Writing Month in which writers attempt to write a 50,000 manuscript in the month of November. I've participated over the years and found it to be a fun, creative, and challenging way to write a rough draft. 

The Greatest Nonfiction Books

New Nonfiction To Read This Fall

23 in 2023: New Books on Art, Crafts, & Creativity

12 essential books on writing for National Novel Writing Month

This post brought to us by the letter I and industrious, imagination, improve, and illuminate. 

BW43: Robert Bridges - The Evening Darkens Over

 

The Evening Darkens Over

by

Robert Bridges

October 23, 1844 - April 21, 1930

The evening darkens over

After a day so bright

The windcapt waves discover

That wild will be the night.

There’s sound of distant thunder.

The latest sea-birds hover

Along the cliff’s sheer height;

As in the memory wander

Last flutterings of delight,

White wings lost on the white.

There’s not a ship in sight;

And as the sun goes under

Thick clouds conspire to cover

The moon that should rise yonder.

Thou art alone, fond lover.

Our post is sponsored this week by the letter J for just, judicious, and joy

BW42: 52 Books Bingo - Rogues

 

Happy Sunday! Our next 52 Books Bingo category is Rogue which matches up with our spooktactular theme.  From science fiction and fantasy to romance and regency novels, there are plenty of stories which include Rogues. 

Rogues come in all shapes and sizes: scoundrels, con artists, outlaws, or villains, lords, reformed bad guys, spies, detectives, and thieves such as Robin Hood.

Even assassin's such as Gin Bianco in Jennifer Estep's Elemental Assassin series or Fitz in Robin Hobb's Far Seer Trilogy. 

Romance Novels with Rogue in the Title

Space Rogues: A series by John Wilker

Best Science Fiction Heist Books

Goodread's Assassins Thieves and Rogues books

Happy Reading!

Our post is brought to you by the letter K which stands for kingpins, keelhaul, and kilts. 

BW41: October Author of the month - Neil Peart

 

Happy Sunday!   Our October author of the month is Neil Peart.  Peart is best known as the drummer for the band Rush, but he was also a writer. 

He published several nonfiction books about his motorcycle explorations while healing from his wife and daughter's deaths, his physical and spiritual journeys through Africa, his musical inspirations, and travels off the beaten path travels while on tour.

The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa (1996), 

Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road (2002), 

Traveling Music: The Soundtrack to My Life and Times (2004), 

Roadshow: Landscape With Drums, A Concert Tour by Motorcycle (2006).

Far and Away: A Prize Every Time (2011), 

Far and Near: On Days Like These (2014), 

Far and Wide: Bring that Horizon to Me! (2016)

 As a prolific reader, he also started Bubba's Book Club.  The book club ran from  2004 through 2011 in which he read, reviewed, and recommended books from Vikrim's Seth's An Equal Music to Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna. 

He also collaborated with Kevin J. Anderson to write a steampunk fantasy trilogy based on Rush's album Clockwork Angels. 

Peart died from brain cancel on January 09, 2020. 

Join me in exploring with Neil Peart. 

BW40: October Spooktacular

 

Happy Sunday!  The first of October means it's time for our October Spooktacular! Once again, I have the Adam's Family theme song along with their snapping fingers, running through my mind while I write this. 

Everyone's definition of what is spooky is different. Some people can handle higher levels of outright horror to those who can barely handle the kid friendly ghost stories.  From all out horror to horror lite, from psychological thrillers to gothic, from the paranormal to the supernatural, there are stories for every level of spookiness. 

If you're like me, I can't stand horror books filled with blood and guts.  I prefer psychological thrillers, tales with nail biting, spine chilling suspense, creepy settings, and characters you certainly wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley.  

I've grown to love psychological thrillers, scary supernatural fiction, and more, and have a library full of Dean Koontz, Ted Dekker, Bram and Dacre Stoker, Charles De Lint, Frank Peretti, and more.  

Currently on my nightstand for October are House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski,  The Last Man by Mary Shelley, Graham Moore's The Sherlockian, as well as several Dean Koontz's books including 77 Shadow Street, The House at the End of the World, and Fear Nothing.  No, I won't get to them all this month, but love having the choice. 

If you dig through the classic to the modern authors such as Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Neil Gaiman,  Edgar Allan Poe, or Shirley Jackson's Bibliographies, to name a few, you'll find gems that are more psychological thriller or just plain scary, rather than outright blood and guts horror.  

If you haven't read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein or Bram Stoker's Dracula, now may be the time to dip your toes in. Put away all your preconceived notions and be prepared to be surprised, because the books are very different from the movies.  

Part of the fun is in the search and a quest for a scrumptious scary read, so leaving out the links. 

What is one of the spookiest or most thrilling book you have read?

This post is brought to you by the letter M and macabre, mad, mayhem and mundane. 

BW39: Autumn by John Clare

 

Autumn

by 

John Clare

I love the fitful gust that shakes

  The casement all the day,

And from the glossy elm tree takes

  The faded leaves away,

Twirling them by the window pane

With thousand others down the lane.

I love to see the shaking twig

  Dance till the shut of eve,

The sparrow on the cottage rig,

  Whose chirp would make believe

That Spring was just now flirting by

In Summer's lap with flowers to lie.

I love to see the cottage smoke

  Curl upwards through the trees,

The pigeons nestled round the cote

  On November days like these;

The cock upon the dunghill crowing,

The mill sails on the heath a-going.

The feather from the raven's breast

  Falls on the stubble lea,

The acorns near the old crow's nest

  Drop pattering down the tree;

The grunting pigs, that wait for all,

Scramble and hurry where they fall.

Our post sponsored by the letter N which stands for Nature, noble, nimble, and nerdy. 

Y'all know what to do. Leave a link or comment below!

BW38: September Equinox

 

Happy Sunday! Autumn is upon us in Northern Hemisphere which means the beginning of Spring in the Southern Hemisphere. Whether the season is Autumn or Spring, nature's palette is painting our world with leaves turning burnt orange and yellow and purple or flower blossoms blooming,   The sights and sounds of leaves and bonfires crackling, or lavender and rose perfuming the air, are just right for curling up with a good book. From new releases to the old tried and true, it's time for our Fall Reading Mini Challenge. Substitute Spring if you're on the opposite side of the world. 

 The PERFECT Autumn Vibes Reading List For 2023  - Good ideas for our October Spooktacular.

The Best of Cozy Books for Fall

Curl Up this Fall with a Great Book: 12 Best Reads for Autumn

10 Most Exciting Fall 2023 Fantasy & Science Fiction Books

Cozy Fall Romance Novels

This post sponsored by O and observant, open, officious, and oblique. 

Y'all know what to do. Leave a link or comment below!

BW37: 52 Books Bingo - Western

 

Happy Sunday! Our next 52 Books Bingo category is Western which means our reading journey is taking us West.  But where in the West?  

Read a book set in the western world which includes most countries of the European Union as well as the U.K., Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, North and South America, Australia, and New Zealand.  

Read a book set in the western united states encompassing  Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Turn towards the West and read a book from whichever town, city, state, or country is in that direction.  Find a a book with West in the title or a character, or even a dog named West. Ask a family member to blindly pick a point on the map located in the West and read a book by an author closest to that point.

Read 50 Books of the West 

Read a book about Western Culture 

Read a book set in Western Europe

Read a book set in the West Indies

Read Great Books of the Western World

How you interpret it is up to you.  Enjoy! 

This post is brought to you by the letter P for positivity, ponder, poetry, and peace. 

Y'all know what to do. Leave a link or comment below!

BW36: September Author of the Month - Dame Hilary Mary Mantel

 

Happy Sunday!  September is upon us which means Fall is on the way. This week we celebrate the anniversary of Emma M Nutt, the first woman telephone operator, International Bacon Day, Skyscraper Day, Labor Day, Be Late for Something Day, Read a Book Day, Neither Rain or Snow Day which was the day the first post office opened in 1914, and International Literacy Day.  

Plus our author of the month is historical fiction writer, Dame Hilary Mary Mantel who passed away at the age of 70 September 22, 2022.  Mantel has written numerous books and essays and is best known for the Thomas Cromwell series - Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies, and Mirror and the Light.  She won the Man Booker Prize twice, and the Hawthornden Prize for Literature in 1996. 

Hilary Mantel reading list: a guide to her Booker nominated titles and other best works

Hilary Mantel: her 10 greatest books

Hilary Mantel Thinks the Last Book Is Her Best

Hilary Mantel, The Art of Fiction

Our post is brought to you by the letter Q for quintessential, quiet, and queen. 

Y'all know what to do. Leave a link or comment below!

BW35: Isn't it Romantic

 

Happy Sunday! I was getting ahead of myself, thinking the month was about to end last week. So guess what? We get a bonus week for our Romance Awareness month. Which brings us to our next 52 Books Category -   Isn't It Romantic.  

85 Best New Romance Novels That'll Make You Swoon

Best Romantic Suspense (August 2023) - Rated by CherryPicks' Experts

Favorite Historical Romances for the First Half of 2023

August 2023 Paranormal Romance Titles

14 Best Fall Romance Books With Cozy Autumn Love

This post is sponsored by the letter R for romance, Romeo, roaming, risk and reflection.

Y'all know what to do. Leave a link or comment below!

BW34: Reluctance by Robert Frost

 

Happy Sunday!  We're coming to the end of our romance month and while meandering through the interweb came across Robert Frost's Reluctance. Frost is a favorite of mine and the poem may be better served for the fall or winter, but I liked the themes of nature and human will and not letting love go. 

Then it got me to thinking about romance stories in which one or more of the characters are reluctant to change, to explore, to live, to love which make for some interesting stories. So your mission this week is to look for stories about reluctant heroes or heroines.  

Reluctance

by 

Robert Frost 

Out through the fields and the woods

   And over the walls I have wended;

I have climbed the hills of view

   And looked at the world, and descended;

I have come by the highway home,

   And lo, it is ended.

 

The leaves are all dead on the ground,

   Save those that the oak is keeping

To ravel them one by one

   And let them go scraping and creeping

Out over the crusted snow,

   When others are sleeping.

 

And the dead leaves lie huddled and still,

   No longer blown hither and thither;

The last lone aster is gone;

   The flowers of the witch hazel wither;

The heart is still aching to seek,

   But the feet question ‘Whither?’

 

Ah, when to the heart of man

   Was it ever less than a treason

To go with the drift of things,

   To yield with a grace to reason,

And bow and accept the end

   Of a love or a season?

This post is sponsored by the letter S for soft, sentimental, sweet, and sexy. 

Y'all know what to do. Leave a link or comment below!

BW33: The Funny and the Weird

 

Happy Sunday! I'm in the mood for something funny, something weird, something romantic.  Our Romance Awareness Month continues with the wild and wacky happily ever afters. My TBR pile grew exponentially after reading through these lists. 

35 Hilarious Romcom Books That Will Have You Laughing Out Loud 

19 Best Romantic Comedy Books That Will Make You Laugh Out Loud

28 Best Rom Com Books, Smart & Funny Romance Novels

Quirky Romance Books 

And because August 18 is bad poetry day, I've been playing with Oulipo's. The constraint:  Book must have a J in the title.  Not very original, but let's see how it works out. 

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side
A Jerk, A Jihad and a Virus
Just One Damned Thing After Another
Just So Happen

Just Listen
Journey from the Land of No
Just a Little Lie
Jealousy

A Kind of Justice
Just Between Us
Just One Golden Kiss
Just Say Yes

Is it Just me. 
Just Friends
Just a Cowboy
Just my Type

Just Like That 
Juliet Immortal 
Jumping Through Fire 
Journey to the Center of the Earth 

Jump the Cracks
Jeweled Fire 
Joy of Life
Jewels of the Sun

Just One Look
Just Like  A Man
Just Me in the Tube
Just Take My Heart

And this week's post is sponsor by the letter T for tangents, tempting, therapeutic, and  tantalizing.

Y'all know what to do. Leave a link or comment below!

BW32: Time to revisit Flufferton Abbey

 

Happy Sunday!  Since this is romance awareness month, it's a good time to revisit Flufferton Abbey, 

Flufferton Abbey is a term coined by Amy (Aggieamy) several years ago and described as "not a genre so much as a writing style.  A few genres lend themselves well to being Fluffeton books such as cozy mysteries, comedy of manners, romance, and historical fiction.  Everyone has their own specific thing they look for when they pick up a book and plan to spend time at Flufferton Abbey but there are a number of things that are expected:

Happy Ending – If you are crying at the end of the book it does NOT qualify.  A Flufferton book has the couple getting together, the mystery solved, the situation put right tidily.  If anyone has died during the course of the book they had better have deserved it.

Setting – A lot of the charm in these books is being able to sneak away to someplace wonderful for a visit.  It’s easy to imagine that the cuppa tea we’re having isn’t really in our living room but the morning room of our manor house.  Gritty?  Realistic?  Downtown Detroit in the 1960’s?  Nope.  Not Flufferton appropriate. 

Characters – We love these characters.  They have charm.  They make us smile.  We wish we knew them in real life.   

Humor – A mandatory ingredient.  Some books have us laughing out loud in ways that make our family worry about our mental stability.  Some books have just an occasional chuckle.  All books have at least some. 

Re-readability - Absolutely.  These are the books that we've read so many times that there are sections we've memorized."

 I've been enjoying Lucy Score's Blue Moon, Knockemout, and Riley Thorne series which are laugh out loud funny which charming characters and interesting situations. Everyone's idea of Flufferton is different so I'll let you enjoy following your own rabbit trails leading to Flufferton Abbey.

Our post is brought to you by the letter U for unbelievable, unique, unconventional, and unusual. 

Y'all know what to do. Leave a link or comment below!

BW31: August Author of the Month - Jorge Luis Borges

 

Courtesy of Encyclopedia Britannica

Happy Sunday! Ahoy and avast ye maties, Arrgust is upon us with International Pirate Month, as well as Romance Awareness Month, Admit Your Happy Month, and Family Fun month.   

August is also the birth month of our author of the month - Jorge Luis Borges - who was born August 24, 1899.  His magical realism stories were greatly influenced by the surrealist movement in Europe during the late 20's and early 30's.  And at the age of 16 Borges read Gustav Mehring’s book The Golem which inspired him to write.  

I really enjoy magical realism which is why I currently have many books in my stacks including Borges Book of Imaginary Beings as well as Juan Rolfo's Pedro Paramo and The Golem

Why Borges

The Radical Extension of Reality: Jorge Luis Borges

Ten of the Best Jorge Luis Borges books everyone should read

If you aren't in the mood to read Borges, check out Penguin Random House list of  Magical Realism Books You Need To Read or Mental Flosses 10 Classic Magical Realism Books You Should Read.  I've read about half of their suggestions. 

Our post is sponsored by the letter V for Voice, Volta, Verisimilitude, and Vignette.  

Y'all know what to do. Leave a link or comment below!

BW30: Choose Something Like a Star by Robert Frost

 

Choose Something Like a Star

by

Robert Frost

O Star (the fairest one in sight),

We grant your loftiness the right

To some obscurity of cloud –

It will not do to say of night,

Since dark is what brings out your light.

Some mystery becomes the proud.

But to be wholly taciturn

In your reserve is not allowed.

Say something to us we can learn

By heart and when alone repeat.

Say something! And it says "I burn."

But say with what degree of heat.

Talk Fahrenheit, talk Centigrade.

Use language we can comprehend.

Tell us what elements you blend.

It gives us strangely little aid,

But does tell something in the end.

And steadfast as Keats' Eremite,*

Not even stooping from its sphere,

It asks a little of us here.

It asks of us a certain height,

So when at times the mob is swayed

To carry praise or blame too far,

We may choose something like a star

To stay our minds on and be staid.

Our post is brought to you by the letter W which stands for water, wander, welcome, and whimsical. 

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BW29: To the Moon and Back!

 

This week on July 20th we celebrate the very first time Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon in 1969 with the historic words:  "That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”  In honor of the moon walk, we're going to take a Mind Voyage, which just also happens to be one of our 52 Books Bingo categories. 

Science fiction and fantasy stories became my first true love ever since I discovered the genre back in the 70's.   I don't remember who captured my attention first, whether it was Edgar Rice Burroughs, Arthur Clark, Ray Bradbury, Larry Niven, Piers Anthony, Anne McCaffrey or Robert Silverberg but my love for the genre has never stopped. 

What do you think of when you hear the words Science Fiction and Fantasy?  I think of books with adventure, exploration, mind altering worlds, knights, dragons, cool space ships, alternate realities, magical quests, new technology,  evil villains and heroes.  Books that entertain and enlighten, books that take you away, books that take you on a voyage.  Which is why I created the Mind Voyage challenge back in to 2010 revolving around the vast world of Fantasy and Science fiction. Join me in exploring and take a voyage to another planet. 

Voyages

Moon Voyage :  Choose from the winner on the Hugo Winners List

Sling shot back to Earth:  Choose a story from the Nebula Winner's List

Venus Voyage:   Philip K. Dick Quest 

Mercury Voyage:   Robert Heinlein Quest 

Mars Voyage:  Take a side trip through the 21st century. 

Go into Warp Drive and visit the other planets

Jupiter Voyage:   Go side tripping 90's Style

Saturn:  Go Side Tripping 80's Style

Uranus: Go Side Tripping 70's Style

Neptune Voyage:  Go Side Tripping through the 50's and 60's

The I'm going to Pluto because Pluto is still a planet as far as I'm concerned Voyage.  Mix it up, choose whatever you want to read, and enjoy the ride.

All the links may be found on Mind Voyages in the menu bar. 

This post sponsored by the letter X. Big X, little x, what begins with X?  Xu and Xun Zi and xenophone and xylophones and xyloid.

Have Fun!   

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BW28: 52 Books Bingo - Speculative Fiction

 

Happy Sunday! Our next 52 Books Bingo category is Speculative Fiction which are novels that have limitless possibilities, stories full of curiosity and what could be. There is a broad range to this subgenre such as alternative history, steampunk, gothic fiction, paranormal, magical realism, and dystopian to name a few.

100 Speculative Fiction titles to add to your to be read pile

Translated Speculative Fiction

Can’t Miss Indie Press Speculative Fiction for July and August 2023



Our post is sponsored by the letter Y which means the answer is always Yes.

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BW27: July Author of the Month - Cormac McCarthy

 

Happy Sunday! Summer is officially here on the west coast as we begin our four day weekend with triple digit temperatures. But we can't complain because this year we actually had beautiful spring weather for quite a while before the heat hit.  

Little did I realize when I picked our author of the month at the end of last year that we'd be celebrating his life and death. Cormac McCarthy passed away last month on June 13th at the age of 89.  

In 2021 I read The Road and was enthralled to say the least. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. McCarthy's writing pulled me deep into the apocalyptic world of the man and boy and their journey through a devastated world, bleak and dangerous, full of obstacles to overcome from nature itself and the people left behind. I began to wonder what and why? Why did the man need to get to the coast? What was he expecting to find there? Who was he expecting to find? When they found safe places with water and food, why didn't they stay here. What would I have done in his place? I, for one, would have hunkered down in the bunker and stayed there. What was this great need to keep going? It was bleak and dark, but full of perseverance, hope, love, and goodness in the face of evil. I'm glad I finally read it.  

"He pulled the boy closer. Just remember that the things you put into your head are there forever, he said. You might want to think about that. You forget some things, don't you? Yes. You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget."

Once I finished, I wanted more but McCarthy, for me, is one of those authors you have to be in the mood for and read slowly and deliberately. Much like Proust. So I'll be working my way through his books over a period of time. On the nightstand for this month are his last two books - The Passenger and Stella Maris. 

Remembering Cormac McCarthy

The Final Triumph of Cormac McCarthy (1933-2023

Cormac McCarthy obituary: Stripped-down novels mirrored his dislike of trappings of success

Join me in reading Cormac McCarthy!

 

We’ve reached the halfway point in our reading and will be working our way backwards through the alphabet from z to a. No zipping, zapping, or zooming through your reads. Enjoy!